Court paperwork in Geneseo hazing incident: "My doctor told me my BAC was .26%"

Posted at: 09/13/2012 1:44 PM | Updated at: 10/05/2012 9:41 AM
By: Ray Levato | WHEC.com

News10NBC is learning new details about what police say happened during a hazing incident involving members of the SUNY Geneseo Women’s Volleyball Team. That incident sent one student to the hospital.

According to police, that student’s blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit. She told police that doctors were afraid she wasn’t going to make it. The district attorney is calling the details of this case scary.

The court documents News10NBC got are disturbing. A college volleyball team initiation that involved handcuffs and blindfolds and the new players forced to drink hard liquor. 

Geneseo Police say the drinking party was in an apartment complex right across from the campus. News10NBC rang the buzzer for apartment A6 and got a rather rude response. 

Supporting depositions from eight new members of the college women's volleyball team paint a disturbing picture. “The upper classmen tried to be mean by yelling and screaming at us. I felt nervous and scared. I was told to kneel. I was blindfolded and handcuffed behind my back. Students said shots of hard liquor were poured down their mouths.”  

Greg McCaffrey, Livingston County District Attorney, said, “It is something that we consider very serious. Students are going to drink on college campuses. But I think in a case like this you've seen the added component; there are allegations of handcuffs and blindfolds, people maybe consuming alcohol in some respects against their will.” 

The most disturbing deposition of all is from the 18-year-old student from the Rochester area who needed medical treatment. News10NBC is not identifying her. 

"I was too drunk to leave. I could barely stand up. I made it about 30 feet into the grass and passed out. One of the guys carried me to Jones Hall. I remember throwing up on the floor of the bathroom. The next thing I remember was waking up in the hospital with tubes and IVs coming out of me. I was crying and really mad. My doctor told me my BAC was .26 and they were concerned that I wasn't going to live." 

Some upperclassmen were stunned when News10NBC told them the one student's blood alcohol content was 0.26, three times the legal limit for drunk driving. 

Isabelle Hogan, Geneseo junior, said, “That's so dangerous. That's just really scary. If something had happened that would have absolutely horrible. Even what happened is sad, so if anything worse happened it would have been like such a tragedy.” 

Lyndsay Moore, Geneseo junior, said, “I think it's kind of sad a little bit. You're on a sports team. You go through tryouts and everything. I understand wanting to bond and get a group together as a team but I think there are other ways to go about that.”

McCaffrey said, “What could have been in this case is what's really scary. Yeah, this girl easily could have died. A very similar thing did happen here in Geneseo recently. And a student did die.” 

One of the students at the initiation party is just 17-years-old. Each count of hazing and providing alcohol to a minor can get someone a year in jail or three years probation. But the district attorney’s said he’s not looking to put anyone in jail.

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